You know the drill, where there’s smoke…
For years most of the white clouds billowing out of McGonigle’s Market at 79th and Ward Parkway had more to do with the old neighborhood grocer’s tasty ribs.
These days however, a controversial plan to tear down the current store, along with five family homes in the adjacent neighborhood is causing a stir,
That’s because an out-of-town buyer wants to convert the decades-old, quaint family biz into an 8,500 square foot store with a multitenant 4,500 square foot commercial building plus parking.
Which by most warm, fuzzy local neighborhood standards is a lot to love.
And that would appear to explain in part why after grudgingly granting McGonigle’s permission to expand recently – but only after city staff initially recommended denying the plan due to the required zoning changes and concerns of how the additional commercial footprint might affect residential properties and “character and fabric” of the surrounding neighborhood.
Not to mention KC’s strict boulevard and parkway standards.
The $64 million question:
Did McGonigle’s – which talked to the prospective buyers last year – sandbag the city by using its good will to schmooze the changes, in order to grease the sale of the biz?
Because right after getting permission to expand, McGonigle’s announced the sale.
Sound fishy?
Well, on word of the sale Mayor Pro Tem Kevin McManus introduced legislation to reconsider the move, and it was referred to committee for further discussion.
McManus is on record that he wants new owner, Fareway Stores, to “get buy-in from the community” before it okays McGonicle’s expansion.
Owner Mike McGonigle conceded to the Star that Fareway talked to him last year about the sale, but said he did not believe he’d mislead the council by not telling them a sale was in the works.
That said, in the interest of lending a helping hand to an old-timey family biz, the city gave McGonigle’s an arguably questionable zoning pass for major commercial expansion along one of KC’s most esteemed boulevards, in a residential neighborhood.
While unbeknownst to pretty much everyone other than McGonigle and Fareway, a company with 122 stores and 11,000 employees would soon be running the show.
Meanwhile back at the ranch, KCC spark plug Chuck Lowe waded into the fray by asking McGonigle about the timing of the deal:
“The offer to sell out, Mike told me last week, was very sudden – soon after he had received permission for the expansion from the city,” Lowe says. “That permission, from the city, accompanies the land, not the owner, so, everything must have seemed fine.
“Chris Hueghey from City Hall was professional and non committal when I pressed him about the reasons for the motion to rescind,” Lowe continues. “Phone calls to Fareway were not returned and as of now, the meeting, on the 26th Floor at City Hall this coming Wednesday at 1:30 pm might illuminate what has actually been going on behind the scenes.
“I asked Mike, a charming and charismatic guy, what his plans were, post sale and he told me, ‘I have to sit down and make a plan.’ No doubt, he will be holding off, until Thursday morning.”
Uh, stay tuned…
This was perhaps the once specialty store I would drive to from the Northland to pick things up. Not to mention the BBQ which sounds like it might continue. The butcher section was outstanding…will be missed…
THE $64 million question: should the city allow all the good will of McGonigle’s to be handed off to a giant out of town chain and allow it to tear down a big chunk of the neighborhood and build a pair of relatively gigantic new buildings?
NO!
The “Denverazation” of Kansas City has to Stop!
Removing the buildings that Define our Cities Character and Charm is shortsighted .
We must remember what helps KANSAS CITY stand apart from neighboring cities and suburbs . The Fountains and Boulevards , Historic Monuments and beautiful Architecture found in the Country Club Plaza , Historic Downton and yes , even the quaint Family owned Grocery store and surrounding homes.
Our residents need to have more pride in what makes KC unique and not ALLOW the building of generic structures that can be found throughout the country .
Everybody loves capitalism until it impacts THEIR lives. McGonigle’s owned their building. They also owned the 4 houses that were going to be demolished to expand their business. The City granted that permission and was just fine with a big, new building at that location. There is STILL going to be a big, new building on the very same spot. Does it really matter whose name is on it? The City can’t come back and say “Oh, we don’t want to destroy the neighborhood with a giant, new building!”. That horse is out of the barn and it’s about to end up at the meat counter of a Fareway grocery store.
FYI…..Fareway stores are fabulous. Famous for their meat counters and butcher’s that know what the hell they are doing.
That’s all well and good, up to a point…
Still it’s bogus how McGonigle played the city and the neighborhood by cashing in on the family name and business, then dumping it off on a big chain the minute HE got approval.
Is there any doubt that he easily could have applied for the exclusion by being up from with what was going on and who was in solved?
So why didn’t he then?
Who gives a crap where Joyce Hall’s butler gets her steaks? Tear it down and build something new. We have a two-horse town problem in KC. This place, if not on Ward Parkway serving the ultra rich, would be a glorified bodega. There is no reason to keep a non historic, 1 story grocery market building. Tear it down.
Well…looksgonna get your wish.
Despite Mike McGonigle’s attempt make it sound like his rebuild and sale were coincidental in timing, the minute the city gave the thumbs up, the new company was hard at it affecting the makeover.
Were all those houses he’d bought up and appeared to be using in some cases for storage properly zoned prior to the approval?
One has to wonder.
Too late now as big time changes to the hood and Watrd Parkway are well underway. Hopefully the neighbors will love it once its up and running